Symphony of Hopelessness
by Time.Heals.Not
Summary: She had been hardened by a life of solidarity. She was hardened and convinced she had no soul. He was hardened from feeling alone. From being abandoned. Despite feeling alone, both of them push the fellowship forward. 10th Walker. Aragorn/OC
1. And It Started In Bree

With a deep sigh, I tried to stay still in my bed for longer, though my stiff muscles, not used to not being used for walking as often screamed in protest. Another deep breath and I moved my arms so that my hands could rub my eyes, trying to awaken myself. My green eyes opened, revealing the rugged ceiling of the room in the Prancing Pony that I was seeking refuge in.

At least, this was the room that Gandalf had informed me that I had to meet my companions in before joining their journey. Bree was a strange place to begin a journey, though I had learned that if Gandalf was horrible at anything, it was answering questions in a clear way. Apparently this was the room that my companions were to 'stumble into' or something along those lines, so my instructions were explicitly to camp out in here.

My eyes closed again as I tried fall back asleep—It was a rarity that I was able to actually sleep in a bed and I wanted to soak up as much time as I can for this.

My lack of bed was nothing too abnormal for someone who in most cases was considered a 'ranger from the North' if you could even refer to me as that. I know I wouldn't, but it seemed many others had deemed me worthy of that title. I hadn't had a home for quite some time and I hadn't been in that region for lengthy periods of time in what seemed like ages.

However, before I could put much more thought into it, I drifted off into sleep. My green eyes fluttered open, staring back at the ceiling. They weren't a special shade of green like everyone had read about in fairy tales written by the elves, but they contained golden flecks in certain lights. At this time, it was dark outside. Cursing quietly, I sat up despite my body's protests before throwing my messily braided hair into a wrap around my head.

Hearing footsteps clambering loudly off the stairs, I grabbed my dark charcoal colored cloak before pulling the hood over my head and pulling myself into the corner by the door. For all I knew, it could have been any of the drunkards downstairs, but I didn't want me to be wrong. I'm just glad I hadn't overslept.

Seconds after I was situated, the door burst open. Two figures—one a man who looked vaguely familiar and the other much smaller, a hobbit—burst into the room and the man slammed the door with the smaller hobbit pressed up against the door.

"You draw far too much attention to yourself, Mr. Underhill," the human said intently. The hobbit seemed absolutely terrified. His fear became blatantly apparent in his bright blue eyes.

"What do you want?" he gasped out. Was this what I was doing? I held my breath as the human man continued.

"A little more caution from you for that is no trinket you carry."

_Ah, yes._ I was in the right place.

"I carry nothing!" the hobbit insisted, even more frightened. His facial expression conveyed the lie all too well. Shifting eye movements, shaking hands, all were nervous ticks. Unfortunately, the hobbit must have felt my gaze on him or something because his own shifted to look directly at me.

"…That is a rare gift!" the ranger proclaimed…though I had missed the first part of his little speech there because I was trying to not draw attention to myself, even with the hobbit staring at me.

"Who are you two?" the hobbit questioned.

"Two?" the ranger turned as I coughed slightly. He shoved the hobbit behind him, drawing his sword, "Who are you?"

"I am supposed to assist a group of hobbits and a ranger upon their quest," I spoke simply, as the familiarity of the ranger dawned upon me, and I attempted to conceal my smirk, "It has been a while, Strider."

"Cinder?" he retorted, and I remained silent. Cinder was…well I guess you could call it a nick name, "I don't know who sent you here, but this is no quest for a lady."

I scoffed, "Well, Gandalf sent me himself, and good thing I'm not a lady then, huh?"

"That was me politely informing you that these hobbits," he paused as the others burst into the room, "Have all the help that they need," he turned back to the hobbits, "You can no longer wait for the Wizard…They're coming…"

"They're probably already here," I grumbled, making my way to my gear…namely a couple of daggers and my sword, "We should move."

Strider pushed the hobbits to lead them to the inn across the street and I followed quietly. The night progressed, growing darker and darker by the second. Though Strider was plastered by the window, peering out into the night, I found myself seated so that I too could sit and stare into the darkness as well.

"Did he really send for you?" Strider drew my gaze with his question.

"Who?"

"Gandalf," he answered, the slight condescension in his tone caused me to roll my eyes.

"Yes," My response was swift, blunt. It had no other choice than to be short, for a screech from outside snapped the hobbits awake, "Go back to sleep. You're safe here."

My eyes fell upon the screechers, having left the Prancing Pony empty handed. One of the hobbits, bright blue eyes full of fear asked, "What are they?"

"They were once men," Strider explained, "Great Kings of men. Sauron the deceiver gave them nine rings of power and their greed blinded them and took them into darkness. Now, they are slaves to his will."

The explanation was accurate, at least, from what I was informed previously, so I nodded in agreement.

"They are the Nazgul," he continued.

"Ring wraiths," I interrupted and he shot me a look before he picked up after my interruption.

"Neither living or dead, they are drawn to the one. Drawn to its power, and they will never stop hunting you."

The young hobbit's eyes were wide with fear. Frodo, I think his name was, but I wasn't positive. I really needed to start learning these names if I was to travel with them all the way to Rivendell, "You'll be safe here, go to bed," I commanded, and he seemed to lay back down hesitantly. My gaze shifted back to the outside world.

"You should rest too" Strider muttered, "We only need one of us awake at a time."

"Then you go to sleep," I retorted.

"You know, this isn't going to work unless we trust each other."

"Yes, well," I sighed, "Quite honestly I don't know you."

"Nor I, you. Now sleep, I'll take the first watch."

"Fine," I grunted, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes. Now this was the sleep that claimed my body most nights. Sitting up and uncomfortable. I sighed before allowing my body to let go.


	2. Wake Up In Weathertop

The next morning the sky was lit with a dreary gray color as we ate a small breakfast before loading up and leaving. For whatever reason, Strider thought I would be necessary to have a pony to help carry our gear, for which I was thankful. It was a rather brilliant idea, and made traveling just a bit faster on that end of things. I never really included the thought of actually utilizing horses because my last horse was spooked and ended up causing me to break my arm after I was bucked off. The experience was not particularly pleasant, so I often neglected to use horses unless it was necessary. They usually could sense my mistrust and weren't very accommodating for me, anyway. Bill seemed a nice enough pony, however.

We hadn't been traveling for very long and the sun hadn't quite made it over the horizon, causing the gray of the sky to be the only lighting that we marched in. One of the halflings fell into line with my steps, as I was walking behind everyone, "I don't think we have been introduced," he stated simply, looking up at me, "I'm Merry, this is Pippin," he gestured to the second hobbit that fell into line with our steps, "And those two are Frodo and Sam."

"I have many names, but I go by Cinder," I murmured quietly, as I offered a wry smile to the two hobbits.

"Do you know him?" The hobbit named Pippin questioned, gesturing up towards the other ranger that was leading this rather odd group of travelers to Rivendell, a place that I had ventured to on a few occasions, but I often found my travels leading me elsewhere.

"That's—" however I was cut off before I could say anything else by the man we were speaking of.

"You can call me Strider," he called back and I shot him a glare, "I think we should stop here for breakfast," his announcement caused him to stop walking and turn around as if to ask for my agreement, though I could tell that he had this place thought up of previously. I shrugged before helping myself to a tiny bit of dried meat as the hobbits feasted for the most part. I withdrew an apple from my own bag to munch on as we continued our trek.

Instead of walking behind everyone, I found myself walking beside Strider in silence. The hobbits followed behind us with Bill the pony and chattered away. Well, mostly Merry and Pippin were muttering to each other with Sam interjecting at certain times and Frodo speaking even rarer. They were quite the entertaining bunch and I found it very difficult for me to restrain a smile at some of their comments, however Sam spoke much quieter soon, "Should we trust them?"

"I don't know," Frodo breathed, "We don't have much choice though." The halflings all seemed to agree with this and then Pippin piped up.

"Merry!"

"What?" the other hobbit asked, a tad annoyed. This was not Pippin's first interruption of the quiet since the journey began this morning, and as we progressed, Merry seemed to grow a tad tired and more irritated. Or perhaps that was because Merry was the target Pippin had his sights set on.

"I'm hungry!" he whined, and I sighed, stopping and turning around to look at him incredulously. We hadn't even been traveling for very long, and we had already eaten this morning. My action caused me to slip behind the hobbits on our trek.

"We didn't have second breakfast!" he continued insistently as if to justify the notion of being hungry.

I blinked, confused, "Second breakfast?" My question wasn't too strange, for both Pippin and Merry nodded in agreement. Hobbits eat a lot, I figured. Strider turned around, raising an eyebrow in confusion before shaking his head and pushing forward.

"I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip," Merry said sadly. Was this meal significant?

"What about elevensies?" Pippin asked, turning to me in shock, "Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner…supper? You know about those, right?" I shrugged in response, and Pippin's head dropped down to his hairy feet in a bit of sadness which I suppose was something to be expected. Hobbits seemed to like their food. We continued our journey, but an apple soared through the air, that Merry caught enthusiastically as a second hit Pippin in the head before he began munching on it himself.

I picked up my pace so that I was right next to the ranger in order to speak my first direct words towards the man this day, "I assume we aren't stopping until night fall?"

Instead of using his words like any normal person would do when someone was starting a conversation, he merely nodded. I nodded back before slipping behind the hobbits as they continued to jabber on cheerfully.

'_They have no idea what they're getting into.'_ I thought bitterly, wishing that I could be as carefree as they are. Life hadn't been nearly as kind to me as it had seemed theirs was, so I was definitely a little envious in that respect. However, I felt that experience is a little more desirable, especially in situations like this.

"Why is your name Cinder?" Frodo asked quietly, obviously a bit curious as we walked, and I shrugged.

"It's a bit of a long story—it isn't my real name though," I explained, "It's just easier to make it through constantly moving if no one knows your true identity."

"What's your real name?" Pippin asked curiously, and I blinked a few times. I thought that my explanation of people not getting to know my true identity would be enough of a hint that I didn't want them to know, nor did I really want to discuss the origin of my name.

"I can't tell you that," my response was simple, "Nor can I really tell you why I'm nicknamed Cinder."

"I heard that rangers were given new names according to their qualities or experiences," Frodo stated, though it sounded more like a question, to which both Strider and I nodded.

"Will you tell us about your nickname someday?" Merry directed towards me, and I shrugged.

"Maybe," my pause produced him to furrow his brow in confusion, "If the time presents itself."

That answer seemed a bit more acceptable to him and he marched on. I shook my head as I tried to conceal a smirk that was trying to form on my mouth. Although these hobbits were strange, I did have to appreciate their outlooks and seemingly naïve nature. Our walk continued for many, many hours as the sun not only reached its peak but continued to fall in the afternoon sky. The sun had begun to set when we reached a great hill with an ancient looking tower.

"Amom Sul," Strider murmured, "We'll stop there for the night."

"Weathertop," as memories began to rush into me from my several camping excursions in the tower as I awaited targets or just passing through. It was a staple stopping point, though I was weary about stopping in such a well-known place, however once glance at the hobbits and I could see why this was our current destination. The hobbits were exhausted, and although I could have easily climbed all the way to the top, the hobbits collapsed about halfway up, indicating we had reached our stopping point.

I stood by the tower, standing away from my companions as I kept myself watching for anyone or anything following us. Strider had armed the hobbits with swords as my own hands rested on the hilt of my sword. I understood that the hobbits needed to be armed in order to at least provide them some kind of defense, but I could tell from the looks upon their faces and their uncertain mutterings that they had no experience with such weaponry. Strider stood next to me then, announcing quietly, "I'm going to take a look around," I remained silent, just nodding, "Keep an eye on the hobbits?"

"Mhm," I hummed as I shot a glance back towards the hobbits before turning back to Strider already wandering away, covering a huge distance with his large steps. If his alias wasn't obvious before, I now definitely knew how he had come to receive it. I sat down next to a rather large boulder, keeping my eyes glued to the landscape around us as an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't place a finger on the reason why, and the unknown drew me out of my own head in thinking.

A flicker of light behind me drew my attention as I turned to reveal the hobbits trying to kindle a bit of a fire, "Put it out!" I hissed quietly as they turned to me, startled, "I said," I stood up before marching over there as fast as my legs would carry me, "Put it out!"

"Sorry," Sam squeaked before I gestured for him to be quiet, along with the other hobbits. I heaved a sigh of relief as no shrieks or screams of ring wraiths were heard.

"What were you thinking?" I whispered harshly, "Trying to get us all killed?"

"I'm sorry!" they all sputtered, well aside from Frodo who seemed to realize the gravity of the situation.

"Quiet," I whispered, and their apologies were halted before my blood ran cold as the nasty wails of the Nazgul cried out into the night. My gaze shifted, peering out and around before the leaves of the trees began to shake violently, "Up the tower!" I commanded them, though they hesitated as they grabbed their things, "Go, now!"

I continued to urge them to hurry up and get up the tower at a very rushed pace as we dashed up the broken staircase. I commanded them to get in the corner, and despite them not having any proper training, "Draw your swords."

I turned; taking a defensive position in front of them as I drew out my long sword, the sound of it withdrawing from the hilt was enough to make goose bumps erupt down my spine as I clutched its hilt tightly with both hands. Ring wraiths were tricky business. One or two at a time would be difficult enough to handle, yet it wasn't impossible. The impossibility was that there were five of them; at least that was what my count reached as they emerged seemingly out of the darkness.

As if he somehow gained some kind of heroic confidence, Sam jumped forward declaring, "Back away you devils!" However his lack of self-preservation was in vain as they shoved him aside as if he were nothing. That was not an ideal notion, and I stepped between the hobbits and the dark riders, trying to swallow my own thoughts of self-preservation and attempt to summon my mission's objective and make that my main thought as the first one swung.

I blocked with my sword, the clinking sound it made was louder than I was expecting and rang in my ears violently. As another swung I had to collide my sword once again with one of the rusty eerie blades that the rings wraiths carried. This pattern continued for several seconds, myself fully aware that my holding back two was not going to hinder the other three's objective. This thought caused my own rhythm to falter and one of them batted me away like a hanging sack of potatoes and I found myself wheeling into a wall, my head colliding with the old stone causing it to painfully throb. Though I was dazed, I tried to pull myself to my feet as the other hobbits were shoved away from Frodo. However my dizzy attempt to get back in between them failed miserably as another one knocked me away once more, as my vision blurred in my dazed state. However, this time it was as if I had absolutely no control over my body as I could not pull myself to my feet despite how hard I was trying.

My vision finally cleared up and I picked up my sword just as a piercing scream full of pain echoed into the night.


	3. Crisis and Onwards

Frodo had gotten stabbed. That was evident, and although I could see clearly, my head was painfully throbbing and it was making me sway a bit. Something had spooked off the ringwraiths. But what?

'_Oh'_ the voice in my head depicted as the figure of Strider had appeared in my line of vision. He shot me a concerned glance, his blue eyes bearing into my green ones before I shook my head, "Frodo," I murmured, trying to steady my boots on the ground, though it seemed to quake below me, "He's hurt."

"So are you," Strider pointed out and I shook my head, dark hair falling into my brace as my braid had become ragged from our trip. I pulled the braid into a knot before continuing over to where the crowd of halflings was crouched over as Strider announced, "He was stabbed with a Morgul blade."

The sword itself corroded to a cloud of dark dust after Strider held it's hilt. Tossing it aside, he murmured, "This is beyond my skill of healing."

"And mine," I responded, though I had no idea why I had even thought that speaking up was a good idea. There was no point to repeat what the ranger already knew—he needed elvish medicine.

"He needs elvish medicine," I rolled my eyes, having already thought that. However, I knew he had to justify his actions of throwing Frodo over his shoulder to the other hobbits who were all three thoroughly frightened. Not that I could blame them because frankly, I would be terrified too if I was in as much of the unknown as they were, "Can you run?"

His question snapped me out of my dizzy thoughts and I nodded, though I was unsure about how truthful my response was. Quickly, I urged the other hobbits to follow Strider as we sprinted down Weathertop and began making haste to Rivendell. I found myself struggling on my feet, vision blurring a bit whenever I would turn my head too quickly or sharply. My mind was unaware of how long we had been running, but sooner than I was anticipating my companions suddenly stopped.

However, momentum had other thoughts for me as I tripped over my own feet in my attempt to slow, landing sharply on my arm. Cringing, I pulled myself back up as the ranger placed little Frodo down onto the ground. My mind had reeled as I registered just how bad of shape that the young hobbit was in and instantly began chewing on the inside of my cheek out of habit. It was always the left side of my cheek rubbed raw by my teeth, which made eating pretty much anything a bit of a pain, but my focus needed to be on Frodo and how to buy more time for him to be healed, not to be focused on my own faults.

"Gerubas root?" I questioned as I stood over Frodo and the Strider shook his head.

"Not in this part of the wood," his response wasn't nearly as frantic as I had originally felt it would have been, but he seemed very confident that we'd be able to fix this, or at least delay it, "Atheleas," he paused, "Sam, do you know what an atheleas is?"

"Atheleas?" he questioned, and then the slang vernacular of the term became apparent as a lit torch in my mind.

"Kings foil!" Sam looked between both Strider and I, obviously a bit unsure about fully trusting us, however he really had no other options at this point.

"Aye, it's a weed," he said shakily, narrowing his eyes in a bit of confusion as to why we would ask him about such a simple weed that he likely trimmed away in the gardens he tended back in the Shire. That was likely the main thing I had picked up upon during our first day of travel was that he gardened…and took much pride in it as well.

"It may help slow the poison," Strider spoke calmly, turning to me, "Keep an eye on him, keep him conscious."

I nodded, before crouching down beside Master Frodo, both Merry and Pippin were fretting beside me, "Is he going to be okay?" Pippin squeaked and I nodded.

Frodo let out a struggled gasp of pain and I picked up one of his limp arms, "Stay with me Mr. Baggins." The response that I had received from the hobbit was amassed gibberish that I didn't understand, "Better than nothing," I mumbled under my breath, "Hold onto my hand. You're going to be alright."

A not so familiar voice spoke up, causing my head to snap in the direction Strider and Samwise had wandered to locate the aforementioned weed, and several paces away stood an elf, whose blade was pressed against Strider's neck. Letting go of Frodo's weakened hand, I placed my own two hands on the hilt of my long sword, gripping it tightly.

"What's this? A ranger caught off guard?" I blinked as my green eyes registered the absolute beauty of this particular female. She was gorgeous in every single way, shape or form, dark hair, deep blue eyes that probably sucked Strider right in. However, before I could actually investigate, he seemed to acknowledge that he knew the woman…elf. Upon further inspection I recognized the ears and I sharply inhaled, turning back to Frodo who seemed to not only be dazed, but in total awe.

Words were exchanged between the female elf and the ranger that I couldn't quite hear over Frodo's sharp breathing and the other hobbits' mumbling to one another about the beautiful elf woman. Jealousy. That was the emotion I was feeling, though I couldn't quite understand why. Perhaps that it was because of the fact that she was so blatantly beautiful, or maybe because she seemed to be far more helpful than I. Or maybe it had to do with the trust the Ranger of the North and her seemed to share. No matter, I tried to squash my opinion as her and the ranger approached Frodo.

Despite my attempt to suppress it were unsuccessful as I drew out my dagger and tore through the injured hobbit's tunic as Strider smoothed the Kings foil paste along the cut before he picked up Frodo and loaded him on the female elf's horse before dashing off.

"Do you trust her?" I questioned, though I already knew the answer. I was just peeved that he had decided that my opinion was not…necessary. Was I a burden? Definitely not, so it was just irritating that decisions were made without my input, though the more I thought about it, the more I realized I would have made the same damn decision.

"I do," he said sharply, "How is your head?"

"Just fine," I responded, wincing as I ran my fingers over it, feeling a cut that seemed to have formed on my scalp, "Little sore," I altered my initial response, "Walls are not my ideal thing to ram my head into."

A joke. That ought to lighten our mood, right? Pippin and Merry seemed to have suppressed whatever response they wanted to make to me, and Sam just seemed far too concerned about everything to care much about what the others said.

"You have a cut," Strider pointed out before taking my head between his hands in order to examine it. The cut seemed to have begun close to my hairline on the top of my head, and seemed pretty small, yet he pressed his fingers rather harshly to press kings foil to the wound, causing me to writhe and try to break out of his group, "Hold still."

"Not if you're going to do that again," I retorted, "I can take care of it myself."

"It is small enough that it'll heal in a few days," he murmured softly, "I'll check it again later. We're done moving for now."

"I'll start a fire," I mumbled taking a bit of the fire wood that the others had seemed to carry with them, finding a relatively dry patch of grown and tore up some grass and moss for the fire's beginning. Kindling, is what it was called, as Strider decided that he was going to watch me, which drew the attention of the hobbits as well. Pulling a stone and some other material that would spark out of one of my pouches, I struck them together and sparks spilled out of them from the reaction. As the moss and grass caught the flame, I began to place the fire wood into the fire slowly, causing the flame to be a decent size, especially if they felt like cooking.

I found myself sitting against a nearby log, watching as the hobbits tossed bits of the food they had into a pan. Strider crouched down beside me and I glanced over to him, his eyes on me, "I'll take watch tonight," I spoke and he eyed me, "Don't worry. It is doubtful the Nazgul will return for us now that Frodo is no longer with us."

"He's going to be okay," Strider justified as the hobbits' eyes widened at my comment, "And if you wish to take watch, I'm not going to stop you."

"Excellent," I murmured, standing off and dusting my dark gray elvish leggings, before picking out a post for the night. A tree would be perfect, but I had to find one with a branch to support my weight and wouldn't be too high up as to cause injury if I needed to drop from it very quickly. As such, my gaze shifted up.

"What are you looking for?" Pippin questioned, following my gaze up the trees.

I didn't answer at first until I had found my mark, "My spot for the night."

I approached my tree of choice, which didn't have the greatest of climbing attributes, but I found myself pulling myself up, gripping knots or finding other distortion on the tree's trunk including stripped bark as I climbed. My muscles strained, but other than that did not protest too terribly much until I reached a lower branch that I could stand on, using that as a boost up to my final resting place. Sitting down and leaning against the tree's trunk, I heaved a sigh of content before the bitter cold decided to reach my aching body.

"Should've grabbed a cloak," I grumbled, tucking my fingers under me and wiggling my toes in my boots in order to try to generate some kind of heat to make this night less gruesome. After quite some time and the fire began to die down, a voice shook me from my thoughts.

"Are you cold? Hungry?" the voice came from beside me, which was quite a bit alarming, but had explained why I heard a crunching sound moments before as Strider was standing on the branch that I had used as a boost. He offered me a mug of the stew that Samwise had made, though it was no longer very warm, along with my dark cloak. Taking both, I muttered a quick response.

"Thank you," I took a sip of the stew to test out the taste, though I should have learned to not be so picky about it. Before I could attempt to cover myself with my cloak, Strider took it from me before wrapping it over my body, "And thanks again."

"How's your head?" he questioned and I shrugged.

"It doesn't hurt much anymore," I murmured, "Just a tad bothersome."

"Understandable," he mumbled, "If you wish I can look at it before we set off tomorrow…Are you going to be okay being the only one up here?"

"Strider, this isn't the first time I've had to keep watch," I informed him, knowing that he knew this fact too.

"I know, it's just…" his voice trailed off before he shook his head, "Nevermind. Goodnight Cinder."

"Night."

The next several hours were dead silent save the whimpers of the hobbits in their sleep below. By now I had finished my stew and was taking my time to stare out randomly into the night, examining our location in every single detail I could pick up on because that was honestly the only way I was going to manage to stay awake in my infinite boredom.

As dawn broke, I heard Strider waking the hobbits and I dropped down from the tree I was seeking refuge in, "How was watch?"

"Painfully uneventful," I responded.

"Were you cold?"

"Not nearly as bad after you brought me my cloak…"

"That's good to hear," he nodded, "Did you want me to examine your cut?"

"Sure," and almost instantaneously he was already staring at the cut, mumbling about how it still looked okay and that it looked to be healing fine. Shortly after that exchange we had packed up camp and were dragging our young hobbit companions with us towards Rivendell.


	4. Welcome to Rivendell

The travel to Rivendell was particularly rushed because Samwise was entirely concerned about Frodo despite Strider and I insisting that he was going to be okay and that the elves in Rivendell would take wonderful care of him and that we'd be there soon. The conversations also drifted to the antics that Merry and Pippin would get into in the Shire, which were incredibly amusing as Strider and I found it hard not to let forth a chuckle or two at some of their tales. And when the hobbits were too busy chattering amongst themselves, I would pace myself with Strider, conversing mostly about the landscape and possible routes to take.

Our entrance into the absolutely luscious community that is Rivendell was more annoying than anything. Naturally we were stopped and interrogated for our 'reasons for going to Rivendell' and I allowed Strider to do the talking as he spoke smoothly in elvish to the guards. I, too, knew elvish, but I was not completely certain I wanted to reveal it to the group yet. However, as we entered upon Rivendell, it was very apparent that Strider had been here before as the few elves we ran into shot him glances of recognition. This was probably where he learned elvish, I determined, versus my learning it from mainly the Mirkwood region.

After Samwise was dropped off into Frodo's room and there were numerous greetings to Gandalf who decided to appear, cryptically as it were. Then we were allowed to go into each of our separate rooms, in which I immediately closed the door, kicking my boots off and removing all of my weaponry. I eyed the bed wearily, contemplating whether or not I could spare the time for a nap, however I could not think of a way in which my presence would be necessary for the next few hours except for at dinner this evening, so I collapsed into the bed, not even crawling under the blankets and drifting off into a deep slumber.

I was awoken several hours later by an elf maiden who asked if I wished to bathe or needed help getting ready for dinner, and I sleepily snarled, "Go away!" bidding her out and slipping back into sleep. I have no idea why I was so exhausted, but I was and this bed was the perfect place to catch up on some of my lost sleep I had gathered through the years. The next time my green eyes opened was I had this unnerving feeling that I was being watched. I turned my head to where it felt like the source of the staring was coming from to see Strider looming in the corner, seated on one of the chairs.

"What are you doing in here?" I questioned, a bit drowsy still as I covered my mouth with my hand as I yawned before rubbing my sleepy eyes.

"You missed dinner," he informed me, "And Lord Elrond and Gandalf have summoned our presence."

I sat up with a start, mumbling about needing to bathe as an elf maiden sheepishly walked into my room from the bath area, announcing she had just drawn me a bath, "Convenient," I grumbled, before shooing Strider out.

"Will you be able to find us?" he questioned, and I hadn't fully heard his question, just my automatic agreement before closing the door behind him. The elf maiden smiled at me, her slick black hair was long and straight, her dress a powder blue color.

"Should I bring you fresh clothing?" she asked, and I nodded, "A gown?"

I frowned, "Preferably not…something…similar to what I'm wearing now?" I asked, and she eyed my elvish leggings (which was something many of the male elven soldiers wore) and my tunic (also a male clothing item) before dashing off as I stripped and sunk down into the tub. My tense muscles relaxed in the hot bath, steam almost pouring off of it. I really didn't have time to relax though as I began scrubbing away at the dirt, dried blood, and various other debris that had taken homage on my skin revealing the pale and weathered skin that I was accustomed to. Soon, I began working on my hair, wincing as I brushed upon the small scab of my cut on my head until I had scraped it right off.

I grabbed my towel, drying my body quickly and forcing on the navy colored leggings and the white tunic that the maiden had brought me, and noticed she also included a navy belt, which I also tied above my hips. Towel drying my unruly dark hair the best I could, I forced it into a knot on my head, not even bothering to comb or braid it first. I was in much too much of a hurry to even think about it. I then frantically began to look around, trying to find where my boots had wandered off to, before deciding that bare foot wasn't that terrible and left my room, only to almost run directly into Strider.

"I said I would catch up," I said firmly, and he just shrugged. I rolled my eyes as he led me to Lord Elrond's study. Mentally, I was thanking the ranger for waiting for me because as we walked, I realized I had no idea how to get anywhere in this place. In fact, I would be lucky to find my way back to my room when this was all finished.

After knocking and entering, the two of us bowed, Strider instantly apologizing, "Sorry for the delay, but the Lady was still asleep."

I sheepishly smiled a bit, before mumbling a soft, "Sorry."

"It is no problem," Gandalf stated with a hearty chuckle, "The Lady needs to sleep sometimes. It's wonderful to see you again, Cinder."

"As it is to see you," I murmured.

"And Aragorn!" the wizard boomed, "It has been much too long." Both Strider and Gandalf shared a friendly embrace and I blinked, my confusion not going unnoticed by the elf that had remained silent up to this point. It then dawned on me that Strider's real name must be Aragorn, or else I just missed some really confusing alias meeting in my extremely long nap.

"Lady Cinder, I welcome you to Rivendell and the house of Elrond," the elf finally stated, and I bowed in response.

"It is my pleasure," I mumbled, before the elf lord continued.

"Aragorn, as always, it is a pleasure for you as well."

It was then that I figured that the pleasant welcomes and greetings were over, as a serious facial expression washed over Gandalf's face and Elrond himself seemed to grow more expressionless.

"Now is the matter of what brought you both here," the elf proclaimed and I shifted my feet uncomfortably beneath me. The tension in the room had grown remarkably higher than I had anticipated which was just making me feel more and more uncomfortable in the passing moments.

"There will be a council held in about a week's time and there will be many representatives from across the lands," Lord Elrond began to explain, and I had to bite my tongue to stop my questions from bubbling out, "The council is to decide what is to be done about the Ring of Power, and as such we need representatives from the North."

"And it seems that you two are our best options for that," Gandalf finished.

"Of course, we will represent the North," Strider agreed, and I scowled a bit, before nodding in agreement. I could answer things myself, though I found myself currently very tongue tied. Elves always made me nervous. Or maybe it was that I was in the presence of so many people that I did not know well.

"Well, that is all that is needed of you for right now. Enjoy your stay here in Rivendell," Elrond said, though the last statement had seemed more directed towards me. He then concluded, "This meeting is dismissed."

We both shuffled out of Lord Elrond's study and began making our way down the halls, my stare fell upon my bare feet before I asked, "Is your real name Aragorn?"

"Yes," he said shortly, "It seems I was unable to keep my identity hidden from you for long."

"Indeed," I nodded, "At least you don't have a completely odd name like my own."

"What is yours?"

"I can't tell you that," I murmured, "Not right now at least."

"Someday though?" he questioned, his blue eyes bearing into mine and making gooseflesh ripple down my spine.

"Perhaps," I mumbled nervously, "You sound like Merry and Pippin. I made a similar promise to them as well."

Aragorn remained silent, and I absentmindedly wondered if I was still to call him Strider all the time or not, but decided that it didn't really matter whether or not I did because soon enough everyone would know that was his name, at least of my traveling companions anyway.

"So are you going to go explore?" I asked quietly, curious as well. His shaking his head surprised me.

"I have other business to attend to," he muttered before breaking abruptly away from me and wandering off in a different direction, causing me to stop walking and glare off after him.

"See you around then, I guess," I grumbled before continuing my walk. I wasn't entirely sure where I was wandering off to though, but even in the evening as the sun was setting against the night, the entire city or town, or whatever I felt like labeling it was so surreal and gorgeous. It had its own glow which was just simply fascinating.

By some stroke of a miracle, I think I had stumbled upon my sector of the buildings that I was calling my own room and when I figured out I was right, I excitedly hopped onto the bed, though I found myself not feeling tired at all. With a sigh, I decided to stand out upon the balcony, gazing out at the incredible view I had of the glowing world. The pink and purple sky changed into a bright blue one as the hours progressed and my staring continued.

"You should be asleep," Aragorn stated, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"Not tired," I grumbled, "And shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Not tired either," a silence settled over us as we both took to staring out over Rivendell before he finally spoke up, "So you've never been here?"

"I have before it's just been…quite some time," I explained, "I don't remember much of it."

Aragorn nodded in understanding and the two of us continued our staring out into the night in silence. And the silence was all too calming.


	5. Rivendell's Tour of Hobbits

I awoke with the start the next morning, perplexed about when had I returned to the comforts of my bed? Eventually I had grown tired after the small talk Aragorn and I engaged in, and I must have fallen asleep. Did he bring back into my room? And tuck me into bed? That probably was not one of my most defining moments and I heaved a sigh, examining the ceiling in great detail as I pondered what I was going to do today.

Settling on locating the hobbits and exploring as much as time permitted (and actually attending a dinner), I threw the blankets off of me to find a set of spare clothing on the chair with my boots tucked neatly beneath it. My conclusion became: the elf maidens of Rivendell were ridiculously tidy. I didn't consider myself to be a messy person, but this put me to shame easily.

That being said, I tried to make my bed the neatest I possibly could, however I was having difficulty trying to get the blankets to not awkwardly either form around the pillows or them no to be too long without the pillows. Groaning, I just threw the blankets over the pillows before changing into the outfit that had been laid out for me. I pulled my black boots on before departing from the room I was calling home for the current time.

I had barely made it to the next corridor when I heard the happy and cheerful shouting of Merry and Pippin calling after me, "Cinder, Cinder!"

I stopped, turning around just in time for the two hobbits to crash into me, embracing me tightly, "We've missed you, Cinder," Pippin stated, "You up and disappeared when we got here."

"I've been resting, just like you hobbits should be doing," I explained, but the two hobbits shook their heads, "What have you two been doing instead then?"

"Well," Merry began, "First we tried to go see Frodo, but when we first got here they wouldn't let us in because he was still sleeping. And Sam refused to leave that spot so they eventually let him sit in with Frodo, but not us," he pouted, a bit frustrated.

"Perhaps because Sam didn't want to go explore until he knew that Frodo was alright?" I suggested trying to lighten the fact that both Merry and Pippin were being kept from their friend. Pippin shrugged and Merry eventually nodded in agreement before I then inquired, "What else have you been doing?"

"Exploring Rivendell!" Pippin stated in a tone that indicated that I should have been able to just assume that without them actually telling me, "What have you been doing?"

"Resting, mostly," I murmured, "Though I wanted to explore today."

"We'll take you!" Pippin volunteered and Merry nodded frantically before they each grabbed one of my arms before tugging me off down the hallway, "Have you heard anything about the secret thing happening in a few days?"

"Yes," I stated blandly causing both of them to stop completely and staring at me in awe, "What?"

"You have to tell us!" Merry proclaimed, "No one else would, but Pippin said you'd tell us if you knew. So you have to tell us!"

"I can't," their disappointment was immediate as their gazes drifted sadly to the floor, "I mean, it is supposed to be a secret after all."

"But Cinder," Pippin whined, "Strider gets to know, you get to know, Gandalf knows, Frodo gets to know..."

"It has to do with Frodo," I stated, "But that's all I'm going to tell you."

"I bet this is all about that ring!" Merry stated, "Though I don't really know why. Anyway, come on, let's show the lovely lady around Rivendell."

I could only laugh at his demands for escorting me in order to mask the fact that I was envious of their naivety. While they longed to know everything that was going on, I found myself yearning for blissful ignorance. The ring was tricky business, and no doubt this council is going to be incredibly stressful. Decisions were not easily made in masses and since there are representatives from each of the major areas of Middle Earth, I could only hope that something good would result. That ring was…so evil that I was afraid of what was going to happen if it stayed in Rivendell any longer.

The two hobbits were practically bouncing in excitement as they showed me where the main dining hall was, along with the market, the strange forest that was on the other side of a wall (the two insisted that the trees glow at night), the 'weird room with the broken sword' as Pippin entitled it, which seemed to be a very calming place to be. They then showed me the gardens, which were absolutely stunning before also showing me where Frodo's room was.

During the tour, I had identified Strider amongst our walking around corridors and the hobbits paid no notice as they were chattering away about food more than likely. Rather than acknowledging him, I could only shoot a short glance at him and the elven female that had rescued Frodo conversing, rather heatedly, it seemed. I was curious, but I was with Merry and Pippin who could not keep quiet if their lives depended on it and spying was considered rude so I had been told. Instead, I neglected my urges of eavesdropping on the pair and quickened my pace to keep up with the young hobbits.

They had concluded that it was lunch time, and it did not take much convincing for me to agree with that notion as we hurried to the dining hall, and knowing where it was now when Pippin challenged us to a race, I jogged lightly, allowing the two of them to duke it out for who got to be first. We slid into an empty table and began helping ourselves to the bits of food that were in the vast platters and bowls. Not only were elves neat freaks, but they made delightful food.

Our explorations after lunch led us back to the gardens where Samwise joined us after announcing that Frodo had woken up, but was resting right now. He was pointing out plants and telling us what they could be used for in cooking and for the most part we weren't listening. It was just relieving to see that he was lively again since the last time I had seen him he was fretting about Frodo. He was stirred from his explanation about some flower when a large group of people trounced through the garden on their arrival.

"Who are they?" Sam inquired, seeing that they were clearly not elves.

"Men of Rohan," I muttered, glancing at one of the flags.

"Have you ever been there?" Pippin asked.

"I've been numerous places," I muttered cryptically as they passed through, "Let's just say that for my gender, they are not impressed with my lifestyle choice."

"Of being a ranger?" Merry questioned and I nodded, "What's it like?"

"It's interesting I guess," I mumbled, "You have a freedom of never having to be tied down and answering to the few and far between, but you don't have a home. You don't really have friends either. No companions. It is a life of solitude."

"But we're friends right?"

"If you want us to be," I responded and they all agreed that we were indeed, friends. The notion of friendship was so foreign to me that I accepted it with open arms, even if I probably should not have. Merry and Pippin are quite the lovely pair and they were thoroughly entertaining in even the most dark of times and Sam was far kinder than any other creature I had ever met. For instance, after our friendship proclamation, he decided to go check in on Frodo once more.

That evening they dragged me to dinner despite my declaration that I wasn't too hungry, my arms being tugged down the hallways as they led me to the dining hall before forcing me down into my seat. I filled my plate, partially due to their nagging and the rest was because it was not often that I was able to indulge in such lovely food, and with the council in a few days my presence in Rivendell would be unnecessary.

I followed Merry and Pippin to the area in which their rooms were after dinner because they still did not wish for me to depart from them, and I was seated on the floor facing them as the two sat on one of their beds, talking about the Shire and the great things that it held.

"Have you ever been?" Pippin questioned and when I responded with shaking my head 'no' they began to dig deeper into their Shire-talk, telling me about the greatness of the people, of family…and then Pippin had to ask, "Do you have a family, Lady Cinder?"

"I used to," I paused, my gaze shifting out to the window as my dark hair spilled out of the knot it was in, "But that was long ago, when I was even smaller than you two."

"You're not much taller than us now," Merry pointed out, and I laughed, "You really aren't!"

It was true, I was fairly short it seemed compared to most mortals, but in reality I wasn't terribly shorter than Strider. The top of my head reached his nose and that was plenty tall for me, which meant I was much taller than the hobbits interpreted. Maybe it was more of a metaphorical height they were speaking of, but I figured that notion wouldn't have been intentional for them.

"What happened to your family?" Pippin asked quietly as our laughter died down.

"It's…complicated…" I sighed.

"We understand complicated things, don't we Pip?" And with Pippin's nod, I heaved a sigh, shifting my gaze down to my lap before mumbling.

"They died."

The pair of hobbits was silent, aside from giving each other accusatory glares as if they were blaming each other for bringing it up and making me open a wound of losing my family, though they didn't know it wasn't nearly as painful as they had made it seem. It happened a long time ago, and as such time has hardened me to where I could barely feel the anguish of such memories.

"It was a long time ago," I continued, "It doesn't bother me anymore, so don't you worry you two. I'm perfectly fine. But, it is late. I should go to bed."

I stood up, bidding the two goodnight before I was wrapped tightly in each of their embraces, still apologetic as they mumbled their goodnights to me as well. Then I found myself walking through the great huge house of Elrond alone at night. The gleaming city and sky made everything visible, but it was eerie to walk through the abandoned halls, save for a few elves.

I had deemed myself lost when I proceeded down the next corridor, not quite recognizing where I was. Frustrated, I stopped moving to rub my temples and try to think and problem solve. Thinking that I remembered the direction I turned around to directly be in the path of Aragorn, and I felt myself lurch, jumping back away from him, "Aragorn, weren't you ever told that it was rude to—"

I stopped talking, realizing that now was not the time for jesting as he looked particularly…upset. For some reason…did it have to do with Lady Elf from before? "I'd like to go back to my room," he stated simply, almost detached sounding before brushing past me to walk in the direction of what I assumed was our rooms

"Hey, me too," I mumbled, trying to lighten the mood turning around to start walking in the same direction as him.

"You were going the wrong way," he pointed out and I groaned.

"Everything looks the same inside here. I'm better at navigating outside than in."

"I see," he murmured and the rest of our walk was in silence. Partially because I had nothing to say, and he seemed too torn up by his thinking to say anything or be a conversationalist anyway. Upon arrival, I turned to him before going into my room.

"Hey, um, I know it really isn't my place, but you seem distressed," he opened his mouth in protest but I continued, not allowing him the moment to speak, "I'm not going to ask why, or what's going on. I'm just going to offer my listening services if you ever feel the need to talk about it. Goodnight, Strider."

I vaguely heard a "Goodnight Cinder," In response as I left him standing alone in the hall, looking perplexed as I shut the door to my room before kicking off my boots and climbing back into my bed that had been made neatly and to perfection. Damn elves.


	6. Familiarity and Clash

The next morning I was woken up by Merry and Pippin who announced that they were going to meet up with Frodo and Sam in the smaller gardens and that I was to accompany them. The two of them were jumping up and down on my bed, earning a glare from the elf maiden who had brought my fresh clothing. However, I got up, laughing as I urged them out of my room to allow me to change. When I had attempted to make my bed and keep all of my clothing nice and neat, I found myself giving up for the second day in a row and went out into the hallway.

"Do you remember where the smaller gardens are?" Pippin asked, a mischievous smile on his face, which grew to a grin when I nodded, "How about a race?"

"A race?" Merry questioned, "After yesterday, you should know that Cinder is quite the slow poke. I'd be your only competition."

"I was holding back yesterday," I defended, "I let you two beat me."

"Prove it!" they both stammered in unison before I nodded. Merry, deciding to take initiative, stated, "Okay, ready….set….go!"

And I took off. While I never could have the same brute strength as men, my father had taught me to be quicker than quick to give me some advantage. I was sprinting , leaving the two hobbits behind me and I heard their cries out of protest as well, which caused me to chuckle lightly as I turned my head to look to try to determine how far behind they were.

Of course, good graces did never seem to be on my side as I collided with something, causing me to fall back, but whoever it was grabbed me by the arm, pulling me up so that I was face to face with the ranger. I felt my face growing hot in embarrassment before I stammered, "Sorry," as I offered the ranger a sheepish grin. I really needed to stop bumping into him like this…literally. He's going to think my vision is faulty.

"Just who I was looking for," Aragorn said, disregarding my embarrassment or any of the awkwardness I had been producing, "I was going to see if you wanted to look around Rivendell today. I know you're unfamiliar with the area."

My mind flashed to the day before when the hobbits had given me a pretty excellent tour, and how he would be basically showing me the same things, however it would be nice and less stressful for me to spend time with the seemingly calm Strider as opposed to the energetic halflings I had been spending most of my time with, which in all honesty was exhausting, "That sounds…" I had barely enough time to say those two words before I heard the scampering of feet as Merry and Pippin whipped around the corner, running straight into me, knocking me once again into Aragorn, who caught me while staggering to keep balance.

"You cheated," Pippin piped up, staring at me with accusing eyes while Merry had his eyes narrowed, "How did you get that fast?"

"We were racing, weren't we?" I questioned as I regained my feet, before the hobbits each glared at me.

"We raced yesterday and beat you," Pippin muttered, and I shrugged, "But come on, we have to go meet with Frodo and Sam!"

"Actually," I paused as the two hobbits stopped walking away to turn and look at me rather confused. I was immediately envious of how expressive hobbits were with their faces. It wasn't something I had been very accustomed to judging by the fact that most people tried to mask their emotions, and being a loner in the world, I also adopted the emotionless and expressionless mask as well, "I'll catch up with you guys later on, okay?"

Merry scrunched his nose as Pippin nodded, "Tell Frodo I say hello, alright?" The two hobbits nodded before dashing off without me.

"You've been spending a lot of time with the hobbits," Aragorn noted out loud and I nodded.

"They seemed to want the company," I responded fluidly, "And sometimes when you're always alone it is nice to have company, but I'm sure you knew that already."

Aragorn simply nodded in response, leaving the two of us standing in the corridor in an awkward silence. My gaze shifted down to my feet in order to diffuse my own anxieties from the silence. I felt his blue eyed gaze on me, which made me shift my feet a little nervously as I stayed transfixed on my black boots.

"Shall we be off?" he questioned, finally breaking the silence and I nodded slowly as he offered me his arm as we began our trek.

"Do you come here often?" I wondered aloud, allowing myself to look up at him as we walked, my arm linked with his.

"I was raised here," he answered simply.

"So this is where you learned elvish?" he nodded before asking a question of his own.

"Do you know elvish?"

"Yes," I answered softly.

"Really?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" I inquired, "It is almost necessary nowadays. Though, I haven't really dealt with elves from Rivendell until now."

"You just didn't seem to be utilizing it here at all," he explained, "Which elves have you had dealings with?"

"Mirkwood and Lorien," I mumbled, "I hadn't been here for years, but I wasn't going to just tell Gandalf no."

"Mirkwood? Then I suppose you know—" he was cut off upon our entrance to the main gardens due to the recognition of someone who he knew, and thankfully I knew the newcomer as well, "Legolas!" Aragorn greeted the blonde elf as they shared a swift embrace.

"Aragorn! It is nice to see you!" the elf replied heartily before his gaze shifted to me, "And Lady Wanderer, it is always wonderful to see you."

"As it is to see you," I said with a laugh as he forced me into a short embrace, "Though I do recall telling you several times that you don't need to be formal with me, _Prince of Mirkwood_."

He let out a nervous chuckle as he nodded, "Yeah, you may have mentioned it," I raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief and he added, "A few times when I last seen you, but that was a while ago. I assume you are both here for the same reasons I am?"

"Naturally," I murmured, "Your travels were safe?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Legolas answered shortly, "Both of your travels were alright as well?"

Of course he had to include the other ranger into the conversation as well. Politeness or not, I was just happy to run into someone familiar…even if Aragorn too recognized the elf.

"Ran into a few wraiths on the way here," Aragorn answered shortly and Legolas nodded and his eyes shifted to me, but Aragorn added, "Cinder was also with me."

"Now that's surprising," Legolas stated lightly and I scowled, narrowing my green eyes at him into a glare, "I'm sorry my lady, but you usually aren't one to…what is it 'play nice' with others?"

Aragorn chuckled as I glared at the both of them, "I don't know what you mean. I like to think I'm quite pleasant company."

"That you can be," Aragorn agreed, "Only sometimes though," he joked lightly, "Anyway, I was giving the lovely lady a tour of Rivendell, so we should probably continue that before we are summoned for dinner."

Legolas nodded in understanding before he bid the two of us farewell. Aragorn and I continued walking, our arms no longer linked together which gave me a bit more freedom of movement to take in the sights that I had already been introduced to, but I was humoring Aragorn, deciding I would let him know at some later point that I had seen basically everything I would need to see beforehand, but I was appreciative of the tour anyway.

Our wandering ended upon dinner time as we began the short trek to the dining hall, "So it was nice to know what the actual names of things are instead of the quirky titles the hobbits gave them…" I murmured to ease the silence.

"You already had a tour?" Aragorn questioned and I nodded, "Then it seems today was quite counter-productive. My apologies."

"Why are you apologizing? I wasn't just minding my manners," I muttered, "I actually like knowing the actual names to things rather than something the hobbits came up with to pass time."

"I see," he said shortly. We remained silent for a few moments until we were outside the dining hall where we went our separate ways and I plopped myself down where the hobbits always sat and found Frodo to be the only one at the table.

"Hello Frodo, you're feeling well?" I questioned before tearing off a piece of bread to munch on.

"Yes, I'm feeling much better, thank you," he stated with a small smile, "Are you involved with the…" his voice trailed off, as if he were unsure of what to label whatever he was speaking about. I deduced he meant the council that was going to be in the morning.

"The council?" he nodded, "I am."

"I am too," he mumbled softly, "I'm not sure what to make of it."

"Your involvement will soon come to an end, Frodo," I murmured, "You'll be able to return home soon."

It didn't take long for the other hobbits to join us and their cheerful chatterings drowned out any slight conversation that I may had interjected into. I found myself gazing at the wall blankly, occasionally peering around the hall to identify familiar faces in the crowds. A gathering of races was going to be interesting to say the least, and I was unsure about how important my particular role was to be. I eyed the elves, dwarves, and men alike in the halls and found myself vaguely outnumbered as far as gender went. Not an uncommon occurrence, but it made me feel more unwelcome by the second.

"Cinder!" Pippin piped up, breaking me from my thoughts, "What are you doing staring off into space?"

"I was just thinking," I said softly, trying to offer the hobbits a reassuring smile as they stared at me concerned. I didn't seem too convincing however, and they knitted their eyebrows together before dismissing it and allowing me to go back to my thinking. I have no idea how much time had passed the next time I was broke from my gaze of just simply thinking and pondering, but I found that the hobbits were still chattering away beside me, shooting me looks of concern every so often, but much of the rest of the hall was abandoned.

I stood up, which instantly drew the attention of the hobbits who each stared at me rather startled, "Where are you going?" Sam inquired.

"To rest," I answered sharply, "I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight hobbits."

I took to wandering towards the gardens and finding a nice secluded bench to sit mindlessly. In fact, I even found myself slightly dozing off in the peace and serenity of the gardens of Rivendell finding the area overall very calming. However before I could drift off into a deeper sleep, I decided I'd wander inside and to my room.

On my walk, I identified one of the men I'd seen the day before walking out of one of the many areas, and he shot me an odd stare before I continued on my journey back to my room, but before I could wander too far past him, he called out to me, "A lady shouldn't be wandering around alone and at night."

I rolled my eyes, turning to him, unimpressed, "And what do you suggest I do then?"

"Be escorted back to your quarters by me, and then tuck yourself into bed for rest as the rest of the ladies have done here," he chortled and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't need an escort."

"We can't have you wandering around alone," he argued.

"Who are you, anyway?" I questioned, growing more irritated by the second.

"Boromir," he introduced, "And if I may ask the identity of the lovely lady?"

"Cinder," I muttered, and watched his facial expression change to confusion, "Still think I need an escort?"

"Of course," he stated simply, and I shook my head, turning and walking off without saying anything more. I heard the clunking of boots behind me as he hurried to attempt to catch up with me, but as I continued walking I detected another set of footsteps behind me.

I stopped, turning around to come face to face with the man from earlier, "Will you stop following me?" I demanded and he shook his head, "I know where my room is and there isn't anything going to jump up and attack me in the middle of Rivendell where there are elves practically everywhere. I don't need your assistance, okay?"

"Is there a problem here?" another voice asked, revealing Aragorn who looked just as emotionally distressed and upset as the other evening I had seen him, if not worse. I shook my head as his stoney blue eyes caught my gaze, but before he could diffuse the situation more, Boromir spoke up.

"The lady protests to being escorted," he explained and Aragorn hummed in response before responding.

"I'll escort her," he murmured, and Boromir stared between the two of us before trudging off muttering about something or other.

"Thank you, I guess," I sighed, "I really don't understand some people, but…uh, I guess I'll see you later. I'm tired."

"I'll follow you," he murmured, "I was going back to my room anyway."

I nodded after his justification before the two of us began walking, "Do you feel like talking why you seem so distressed?"

"I'm not distressed."

"Or upset," I corrected, "Either way, I know when something is wrong. Anyone who wasn't blind could see it."

He nodded at my observation, not answering right away, "It's complicated," he said finally.

"I understand complicated things," I murmured, and I could have sworn I caught a ghost of a smile before we continued to walk in silence.


	7. The Council

A sharp knock at my door jolted my eyes open in alarm as I took in my surroundings once more. Despite having been here for many days, I was still easily startled and not fully comfortable with this sleeping arrangement. I hadn't had a permanent sleeping arrangement since I was very young.

I sat up, rubbing my green eyes and had barely pulled myself to standing on the floor before the knock on the door occurred again. I finally made me way up to the door, opening it to reveal the rather nervous elf maiden, whose gaze was fixed on the floor as Aragorn stood beside her, dressed in a nicer tunic with a vest and breeches, "Um, good morning?" I said hesitantly.

"Good morning," Aragorn greeted, "The council is in a few hours. She was sent to wake you to make sure you were ready in time, though she said she had been standing out here for a few hours, unable to knock." The elf in question's pale face became flawed with pink as she nervously bit her lip, "I'll be back in a few hours to escort you."

The elf maiden hesitantly entered my room before I asked, "What's your name?"

"Bellas," she said sheepishly.

"Pretty name," I sighed, "I suppose you're here to help me prepare?"

She nodded and rushed into the bath area to fill the basin with hot soapy water. Even though I insisted she didn't need to help me, she persisted to wash and comb out my hair, tugging at the knots and tangles that were incredibly stubborn. I winced as she tugged a particularly tough knot, and she looked at my sympathetically before I urged her to continue. After what seemed like an extremely long time but was probably barely any time at all, she had completed the torture of combing my hair and thus I was completely clean.

I dried myself off with a towel before Bellas asked the next question that made my blood run cold, "Do you know which gown you wish to wear?"

"I don't wear gowns," I retorted shortly, and she bit her lip nervously before speaking up once more.

"The council is supposed to be formal," she explained nervously, "And you're requested to wear a gown."

I groaned outwardly before shaking my head, "Of course, of course," I sighed, "Why don't you go pick one out for me."

The elven girl did not need to be told twice before scampering out of the bath area and into my living quarters and straight to the larger wardrobe that I had thought was empty. She shuffled through a few of the dresses before setting one out on my bed.

The gown itself looked far too wonderful for me to wear, but that might be me creating excuses due to my clear aversion. Either way, however, I was dreading pulling this dress on, but here I was, having the elf maiden help me tie the sash into a neat bow. She then insisted on fixing my hair, which I groaned as she once again combed through my hair, which wasn't nearly as painful as the first go. It was relatively dry as she worked through it, which I found pretty surprising as my dark hair fell stick straight to my shoulders.

The young elf peered at my hair for several minutes, which caused my self-conscious thoughts to prevail further, though I was sure that she was not scrutinizing it…at least I had hoped. She picked up a few pieces, dropping them as they fell limply back into place. The elf then proceeded to speak up, "Your hair is so naturally beautiful when it is down."

"Thanks?" I questioned and she smiled lightly, "But what does that mean?"

"It means I won't have to do much to your hair," she said before she began tugging pieces into place. Seconds seeped into minutes before Bellas deemed me decent enough to appear at the council and then insisted I look in the mirror at myself, which I obliged to where I almost didn't recognize myself. The gown I was forced into wearing was primarily a dark blue or navy color that was tight around my torso before blooming out into ruffles that were accented with dark greens that were also shown in many of the other accents along the torso and the open neck as the tight sleeves and wide scoop neck balanced lightly on my shoulders that hugged my arms tightly before stopping above my elbows. The gown itself was absolutely gorgeous, and the woman wearing it seemed to be a stranger. My pale skin that had some scarring visible was nothing compared to how my skin was normally incredibly puckered and weathered. I pursed my lips as my gaze shifted up to my hair. The majority of it was flat, the length falling to just past my shoulder blades, but there were large strands on each side of my head that were braided and joined in the back of my head by a braid that was held by a dark green ribbon. The braids made it seem like I had some kind of crown on my head, which was different.

Before I could make any more comments or thoughts, my door swung open to reveal Aragorn, which caused Bellas to jump before dropping her gaze to the ground, "Are you ready?"

"Mhmm," I hummed, making a face at myself before turning around to face the ranger. His eyes widened a bit before he offered me his arm as we pressed on, me linking my arm with his before we entered the council area. We were early, which was something I was not accustomed to being, but we took our seats and Aragorn then spoke of instructions.

"Try not to anger too many people," he whispered softly as others began to arrive, "I may be one that thinks you deserve to be here but you don't have the luxury of everyone feeling that way."

"Right," I grumbled harshly, "I make no promises that I'll stay calm and nice if they don't."

"I don't expect you to," he replied quietly as many of the others began filling the area. Legolas nodded at me in greeting which I returned and I offered Frodo a small smile as he nervously entered with Gandalf. The man Boromir from before stared at me in shock when he saw me, but I minded my manners and resisted a glare. Elrond's appearance marked the beginning of the meeting as he spoke strong words to grab everyone's attention, "Strangers of distant lands, friends of old: we gather here today to answer the threat of Mordor."

He paused to eye the group wearily before continuing, "Middle-Earth stands on the brink of destruction. No one can escape it. You will unite or you will fall…Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Frodo…" he commanded, motioning for him to place it on the round table in the center.

Frodo stood up, nervously walking to the circle before gently placing the ring down with a quiet clink as many people leaned forward in anticipation of what we were to do with this horrible trinket. I bit my lip, glancing around at the group, but my green eyed gaze landed on Boromir, who rose to spoke to the group. However, as he began talking, I found myself chewing on my tongue to resist the urge to call him out on his stupidity, but Gandalf broke out the dark speak to halt any of my attempts.

"The Ring is altogether evil!" Gandalf proclaimed, yet Boromir insisted on being stubborn and continue.

"No, it is a gift!" he countered and I let out a snort of derision and his gaze fell upon me as he continued, "A gift to the foes of Mordor! Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay! By the bloods of our people, are your lands kept safe? Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy! Let us use it against him!"

"Do you even think before you say anything?" I questioned harshly, "You speak as if using the thing is easy as running your mouth—do you not think of consequences?"

"And what would a lady know of such things?" he questioned harshly and I rolled my eyes which honestly did not help his temper as he shot me a harsh glare as a result.

"You cannot wield it, none of us can," Aragorn reiterated from beside me, "The One Ring answers to Sauron alone—it has no other master."

"What does a mere ranger know?" Boromir murmured, before Legolas jumped up which was…confusing at least for me, "It'd be best if you allow people of knowledge speak of such things."

"They are not just _mere_ rangers!" Legolas interjected, "She Cinder and the Lady Born in Fire," rounds of whispering began around me as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. '_Thanks Legolas_.' I thought bitterly. I hadn't been given that title directly by anyone for quite some time, but had heard that it was by many people which was…less than pleasant in my opinion. Still, Legolas continued, "And he is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

I froze, not even bearing to look at the man sitting beside me. That's where I had heard that name before—he was the ranger of all rangers. I was sitting next to what was potentially the leader of my band of misfits. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat due to current circumstances and Aragorn patted my knee lightly as if to try to calm my nerves.

"Aragorn…" the Gondorrian mused which made me bite my lip again. At least he wasn't focused on me and then again, neither was anyone else, except for Frodo, who was staring between Aragorn and I, "This is Isildur's heir?" Boromir finished.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor." If I wasn't in enough shock, I sure was now. I bit my lip harshly, but Legolas just had to continue. I would have to have a word with him about that, "And she is of Carnan."

Carnan consists of a bloodline that led a group of people or tribe in the borders of Gondor and were considered hardy people who were relentless upon the line of duty as far as the lore goes, however not much is actually known about the tribe which generated a shroud of mystery of my ancestry especially with Boromir's remark.

"The Carnan were wiped out…dead," he spoke directly to me before continuing to eye Aragorn rather harshly, "Gondor has no king! Gondor needs no king." With that, he sat down allowing for more whispering to continue.

"You're of Carnan?" Aragorn asked quietly and I nodded once, "I know not much of them…it's interesting."

"Not many do," I sighed before Gandalf spoke up.

"Aragorn is right, we cannot use it!"

The tension in the room seemed to reach a stalemate as Boromir was about to rise to speak again, and before I could bite my tongue, words were rushing from my mouth like a waterfall, "The ring would destroy the hearts of men and make way for Sauron to rise to power. We'd be too busy tearing ourselves apart to unite against a threat."

"Lady Cinder is correct. That is why the Ring must be destroyed," Elrond agreed and one of the dwarves sat up, drawing out his axe.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he swung it, and it shattered against the ring as I flinched at the sound of the axe pieces exploding apart. It was a lot stronger than I had anticipated it to be, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed Gimli, by any craft here that we possess…" His voice trailed off letting everyone's brains mull over his newly announced knowledge before continuing, "The Ring was forged in Mt. Doom, only there can it be unmade."

I eyed the ring wearily as I heard its soft whispering trying to budge its way into my mind before listening to the rest of what Elrond said, "One of you must do this."

It was silent for a few moments, myself knowing there was no way I was volunteering myself to bring the ring to Mordor. It was a suicide mission and as I thought that, Boromir's gaze landed on my own, and almost as if he read my mind, he spoke, "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the Great Eye is ever watchful. Tis a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with 10,000 men could you do this…It is folly!"

I nodded in my agreement, though I understood the immediacy of getting the ring there despite the risk. It was inevitable, which Legolas then conveyed, "The Ring must be destroyed!"

I shifted uncomfortably as the arguing started. Everyone was bickering with everyone else trying to determine who was going to be put up to the task. I eyed Frodo, who seemed to be shifting uncomfortably as well before looking to Aragorn beside me who had his gaze transfixed on me, "This is ridiculous," I murmured and he nodded in agreement.

"It is exactly why the Gondorrian is wrong," Aragorn mumbled in return and I nodded before a small voice spoke up, though he was barely heard over the shouting of the others. Frodo tried again, but to no avail.

"Don't you have any decency?" I raised my voice to the others from my seat, a flash of anger in my tone made everyone stop what they were doing and eye me. I held my glare, and saw Frodo standing beside me, quietly whispering a 'thank you' before speaking, "I will take the ring to Mordor….though I do not know the way."

Before I knew it, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and the dwarf had volunteered to assist Frodo, and before I could restrain myself again, Gandalf gave me a knowing look and my words seemed rush as I stated, "You'll need someone to keep you on path…and in line," I added after thought as I walked forward. Legolas smiled at me in was it appreciation? Or was he proud of my decision. I brushed it off before focusing on the remainder of Boromir's speech, which concluded with, "Then Gondor will see it done."

I rolled my eyes, which earned me a harsh grip on my elbow from Aragorn, as a warning to mind myself or something. I just wanted to point out that there were already two people of Gondor joining them, however I refrained from comment and wasn't allowed to dwell for long as Sam burst from the bushes.

"Mr. Frodo isn't going anywhere without me!" he proclaimed, dashing until he was standing right next to Frodo.

"Oy, we're coming too!" Merry and Pippin interjected, the two dashing up to us before Merry stated, "You'll have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!" I laughed, and he beamed up at me before wrapping his arms around my waist to hug me.

"And you'll need people of intelligence on this mission…quest…thing," Pippin agreed, but Merry drowned the thought by countering rather wittily, "Well that rules you out, Pip."

"Ten companions," Elrond broke up the friendly banter between the hobbits, "So be it. You shall be known as the Fellowship of the Ring."

"Great, where are we going?" Pippin asked and I couldn't even attempt to cover my giggles as I ruffled his hair.

The meeting disbanded and I was just seconds away from disappearing down the corridor with Aragorn (who still insisted on escorting me back to my room despite my protests) when Boromir joined us in pace which made me groan and Aragorn softly bumped me with his elbow.

"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier," he stated, directing it at me, "I underestimated you, and I was unnecessarily cruel to you. So I apologize, I do not wish to make this journey awkward and full of harshness."

"I agree," I murmured, and left us in an awkward silence which caused him to wander off away which caused me to blink confused, "Well that was thoroughly odd."

"Only a bit," Aragorn agreed, "At least he was kind enough to apologize."

"I suppose, though I'm not entirely sure he was being completely sincere."

"Of course he was," he paused, "He doesn't need to only female of the group having a vendetta against him now does he?"

"I guess," I shrugged, "We are leaving tomorrow, aren't we?" he nodded in response, "Last night in a bed for a while then. Better enjoy it," I teased, "I'll see you tomorrow I guess," he nodded, bidding me goodbye as I quickly slipped into my room before I changed back into my normal attire and decided to get a head start on some shut eye by plopping down in the bed.

However, several hours had passed and I found myself still wide awake as ever. Groaning, I decided to go stare out on the balcony for a few hours, in hopes the cold air would make me feel drowsier. Leaning against the railing I took in the sights of Rivendell for my last evening here,


End file.
